The problem with climate change is not only the temperature, but also the speed with which the weather is changing today.
Historically, the climate changes of the Earth have generally occurred over thousands or millions of years. Today, global temperatures are increasing by approximately 0.2 degrees Celsius per decade.
Imagine a car accelerating. Over time, human activities, such as burning fossil fuels, have increased the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. These gases catch the heat of the sun. This is like stepping on the accelerator. The faster add gasoline the driver, the faster the car will go.
The 21st century has witnessed a dramatic acceleration in the climate change rate, with global temperatures increasing more than three times faster than in the previous century.
The fastest pace and the highest temperatures are changing habitat ranges for plants and animals. In some regions, the rhythm of change is also altering the delicate moment of pollination, putting plants already pollinators like bees.
Some species are already migrating
Most plant and animals species can tolerate or at least recover from short -term climatic changes, such as a heat wave. However, when the changes last longer, organisms may need to migrate to new areas to adapt and survive.
Some species are already moving towards higher latitudes and altitudes with colder temperatures, altering their geographical territory to stay within its optimal climate. People populations, for example, have moved to the poles as ocean temperatures have increased.
Polinizers, such as bees, can also change their distribution areas.
Abejorros, for example, are adapted to colder regions due to their hairy bodies. Some populations of Abejorros have disappeared from the southern parts of their geographical distribution area and have been found in colder regions of the north and in more mountainous areas. That could increase competition with existing bumblebee populations.
Plants and pollinators can lose synchronization
The plants and their pollinators face another problem as the climate change rate increases: many plants depend on insects and other animals for the dispersion of seeds and pollen.
Much of that pollen dispersion is achieved by native pollinators. About 75% of plant species in North America require a pollinating insect: bees, butterflies, moths, flies, beetles, wasps, birds and bats. In fact, 1 in 3 snacks of food that consumes depends on a pollinizer, according to the US Department of Agriculture.
Therefore, even if a species migrates successfully to a new territory, can face an imbalance at the time of pollination. This is known as phenological mismatch.
During the winter, insects enter a hibernation known as a diapause, migrate or take refuge underground, under the rocks or in the leaf litter. These pollinating insects use the temperature and duration of daylight as clues to know when to emerge or when to migrate to their spring and summer habitats.
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As the climate change rate increases, the chances of a temporary mismatch between pollinators and plants that pollinate increase.
With the temperature increase, many plants bloom earlier in spring. If bees or other pollinators emerge at their “normal” time, it is possible that flowers are already flourishing, which reduces their pollination possibilities.
If pollinators emerge too soon, they can have difficulty surviving if their normal food sources are not yet available. Native bees, for example, depend on pollen to obtain much of the protein they need to grow and prosper.
Wild bees are emerging before
This rate of change in time is already happening with bees in the US.
Studies have shown that the date on which wild bees emerge in the US has changed 10.4 days before in the last 130 years, and the rhythm is accelerating.
A study found that wild bees of all species have been changing their phenology, or the moment of seasonal activities, and in the last 50 years the emergency date is four times faster. That means that wild bees emerged approximately eight days before in 2020 that in 1970.
This early emergency trend is generally consisting of all organisms with the accelerated rate of climate change. If time mismatches continue to get worse, it could exacerbate the decrease in pollinator populations and result in inappropriate pollination for plants that depend on them.
The decline of pollinators and inappropriate pollination already represent a 3% to 5% decrease in the world production of fruits, vegetables, spices and nuts annually, according to a recent study.
Without pollinators, ecosystems are less resilient: they cannot absorb disturbances such as forest fires, adapt to changes and recover from environmental stressful factors such as pollution, drought or floods.
Climate change management
Polinizers face many other risks derived from human activities, such as the loss of habitat for development and damage caused by the use of pesticides. Climate change adds to that list.
Taking measures to reduce activities that drive global warming can help keep these species thrive and perform their functions in nature in the future.
*Courtney McGinnis is a professor of Biology, Medical Sciences and Environmental Sciences at the University of Quinnipiac
This text was originally published in The Conversation/Reuters.
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